Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 598: Chapter 598: Market Chaos

Gao Yuan took several paper packets from his bag and spread them out on the table. "These are some Dried Tangerine Peel samples I’ve collected from a few markets recently. Take a look."

Li Xu picked one up and inspected it carefully.

At first glance, the Dried Tangerine Peel in the packets all looked quite good. The peels were whole and the color was deep.

But...

Li Xu picked one up, sniffed it, then gently scraped the surface with his fingernail.

"This one... it’s not old enough. It must have been artificially aged."

Li Xu pointed to one of them. "When you scrape it, the oily sheen is too bright, and there’s still a lot of volatile oil. It’s two years old at most."

"This one... the smell is wrong. The acidic fruit aroma is too strong, as if it were made from unripe green peels that were artificially ripened."

"And this one..."

Li Xu picked up the last piece, his brow furrowed. "This isn’t Xinhui Dried Tangerine Peel at all, is it? It’s not even from a Chachi tangerine."

Gao Yuan nodded and sighed. "You’re a true expert. You saw it at a glance."

"The counterfeiting of Dried Tangerine Peel has gotten completely out of control."

"The most famous is Xinhui Dried Tangerine Peel, which must be made from Chachi tangerines grown in Xinhui. However, Pubei County in Guangxi is also a major producer of Chachi tangerines, and many other places grow Ponkan and Wogan tangerines."

"Fresh Ponkans cost just a few dozen cents a pound, but the fresh tangerines for Xinhui Dried Tangerine Peel cost at least seven or eight yuan a pound. That’s a cost difference of more than tenfold."

"If someone uses peels from tangerines grown elsewhere, or from different varieties, to pass them off as Xinhui Dried Tangerine Peel, the profit margin can be more than twenty times higher. With such outrageous profits, it’s no wonder so many people are willing to take the risk."

Gao Yuan pointed to the fakes on the table. "These are all samples I got from so-called ’major wholesalers’ who guaranteed their authenticity. And what was the result? If the age wasn’t faked, the origin was. Some even faked the variety."

"I’ve been to several places and can hardly find any stock that’s genuinely satisfactory."

Li Xu also knew the tricks of the trade all too well.

When it comes to Dried Tangerine Peel, especially from Xinhui, the saying goes, "it takes three years to become peel."

At 3 to 5 years, the outer peel is light brown with a fresh, aged fragrance.

At 10 to 15 years, the outer peel is yellowish-light brown, and the flavor is rich and mellow.

Anything over 20 years old is a rare treasure. Its outer peel is a lustrous brown, and it has a pungent, aromatic flavor.

Furthermore, with genuinely old Dried Tangerine Peel, if you gently scrape the surface, the ruptured oil sacs reveal very little oily sheen, because the volatile oils have already transformed.

"Elder Gao, what are you suggesting?"

Li Xu asked.

A determined glint appeared in Gao Yuan’s eyes. "I refuse to accept this. If the market is full of fakes, then we’ll go straight to the source!"

"I’m planning a trip to Guangdong Xinhui myself. I’ll go directly to the orchards, to the core production areas. Even if I have to go door-to-door, I’m going to get my hands on some real Dried Tangerine Peel."

"Dr. Li, if you’re free anytime soon, would you like to come with me and check it out?"

Li Xu thought for a moment.

The oncology department at the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was already running smoothly under Professor Qin’s guidance, and the younger doctors like Hu Qiming had come into their own. He could indeed step away for a while.

Besides, Dried Tangerine Peel was an extremely common and vital herb in clinical Chinese medicine. Establishing a stable supply of high-quality product would be a huge benefit to both his clinic and the pharmaceutical factory.

"Alright, Elder Gao. I’ll go with you."

Li Xu agreed without hesitation.

"Great. Then let’s leave as soon as possible."

Gao Yuan said, pleased.

...

After getting off the plane, Li Xu and Gao Yuan didn’t waste a moment, heading straight for the largest local trading hub for the ingredient: the "Xinhui Dried Tangerine Peel Village."

They had expected to find a mecca for Dried Tangerine Peel, but the moment they stepped through the market’s main gate, they were stunned by the sight before them.

It was less a mecca and more a surreal bazaar.

Hundreds of stalls were packed tightly together, each one displaying signs that read: "10-Year-Old Aged Peel," "Core-Region Tianma," or "Century-Old Heritage."

The air was filled with a complex miasma of smells: a faint citrus fragrance, a thick, sour, rotting odor, and even the pungent tang of some chemical agent. It was a world away from the pure, mellow scent of Dried Tangerine Peel that Li Xu remembered.

"It seems these waters are even murkier than we thought," Gao Yuan muttered, his expression grim.

The two began to walk from stall to stall.

The more they saw, the more appalled they became.

In front of a stall in a prime location, the owner called out warmly, "Bosses, looking for Dried Tangerine Peel? I’ve got the authentic stuff from the core region, Tianma Village. Ten years aged, only 800 yuan a pound."

Li Xu casually picked up a piece to examine it.

Its texture was coarse, and the oil sacs were sparse and uneven in size.

"Sir, I don’t think this is from a Chachi tangerine, is it?"

Li Xu said calmly, "The peel of a Chachi tangerine has a fine, dense texture covered in dimples, and its oil sacs are small and uniform. This peel of yours... it looks like it’s from a tangerine from Pubei in Guangxi, or maybe even a sun-dried Wogan peel, wouldn’t you say?"

The stall owner’s expression changed. His eyes darted around for a moment before he started arguing defensively, "What do you know, kid? This is the real deal! You think every piece of fruit is going to look exactly the same?"

Li Xu didn’t bother arguing. He put the peel down, shook his head, and walked away.

Next, they came to a shop that advertised itself as a "Family with a Twenty-Year Dried Tangerine Peel Legacy."

The peels here were a glossy black and certainly looked impressively old.

Gao Yuan picked up a piece and gently scraped its surface with his fingernail.

The scraped spot immediately became intensely oily, even oozing a visible layer of oil.

He broke off a small piece and saw that the inner pith was too light—still white. He brought it closer to his nose and was met with the distinct, acidic smell of fresh fruit.

"Hmph. Artificially aged," Gao Yuan snorted. "They use new peels, maybe one or two years old, soak them in Pu’er tea for color, add caramel coloring, and then dry them at high temperatures. To mimic the aged fragrance, some even add artificial flavorings. This stuff is basically poison."

Even more infuriating was the rampant fraud concerning the place of origin.

Even genuine Dried Tangerine Peel from Chachi tangerines is categorized into different grades.

Peel from the core production areas of Xinhui (like the villages of Meijiang, Dongjia, and Xijia) is of the highest quality due to the unique soil and water.

The quality from surrounding areas is inferior.

But here, any old peel would be brazenly labeled as from the "core region," instantly doubling its price.

Gao Yuan took out a few standard samples he had brought for comparison. He found that the so-called "core region products" were clearly different from his genuine samples in both peel thickness and aroma concentration.

"It’s all a sham." Gao Yuan was so angry his beard trembled.

The pair’s "professional" conduct soon drew the wary attention of several of the market’s regular stall owners.

As they were questioning the age of the peels at another stall, a seemingly honest-looking, middle-aged vendor quietly tugged on Gao Yuan’s sleeve and whispered:

"Sir, young man. You’re from out of town, here to buy the real stuff, aren’t you?"

"I can tell you’re experts. Take a word of advice from me: don’t be so picky. Most of the stuff in this market is made like this. You want the real thing? The real thing was bought up long ago by the big pharmaceutical companies and wealthy bosses, or it’s the stuff we hide away and never sell."

"Going around asking all these questions, you’re messing with people’s livelihoods. You’re going to make enemies. Be careful, or you might not make it out of this market."

Li Xu and Gao Yuan exchanged a look, a sense of bleakness washing over them.

Bad money drives out good. It had truly come to this.

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